Political ambitions have overtaken our commitment...: Delhi AAP Minister Kailash Gahlot quits post and party

Delhi Transport and Environment Minister Kailash Gahlot announced on Sunday (Nov. 17) that he was stepping down from the national capital's council of ministers and was also quitting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

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In his resignation letter sent to Chief Minister Atishi, Gahlot said, "I hereby tender my resignation from the council of ministers, GNTCD. This may be accepted with immediate effect."

He sent another resignation from the party's primary membershipto AAP's national convener and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in which he raised several issues, including Sheeshmahal and Yamuna pollution, citing them as embarrassing and awkward controversies.

'Political ambitions have overtaken our...'

In his letter to Kejriwal, Gahlot said that the AAP was facing grave challenges.

"I want to share with you that today the Aam Aadmi Party faces grave challenges. Challenges from within, to the very values that brought us together to AAP. Political ambitions have overtaken our commitment towards people, leaving many promises unfulfilled."

"Take, for example, the Yamuna, which we had promised to transform into a clean river but never got around to doing it. Now the Yamuna River is perhaps even more polluted than ever before," he wrote in his resignation letter.

Gahlot also pointed out the "embarrassing and awkward controversies" like the "Sheesh Mahal"issue, which now were making people doubt whether the AAP still believed in being the Aam Aadmi (Common Man).

Sheeshmahal is a term used by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)for the CM's official bungalow.

The 'Sheeshmahal' controversy is arounda whoppingexpenditure of about₹45 crore on the renovationof the CM's residence.

The BJP ran a campaign on the alleged irregularities in the renovation and the huge amount of money spent on costly interiors and household items while hitting out at AAP's claims of working for the Aam Aadmi.

Kejriwal left the bungalow after he resigned over the probe and his arrest in theDelhi excise policy scam case.

Last month, the BJP said that Sheeshmahal was not the designated residence of the chief minister but a common pool bungalow under the Public Works Department's (PWD) ownership. The party also alleged thatAtishi sought the bungalow allocation for herself.

'AAP increasingly fighting for its own political agenda'

In the letter to Kejriwal, Kailash Gahlot also said that instead of fighting for people's rights, the AAP was increasingly fighting for its own political agenda.

"This has severely crippled our ability to even deliver basic services to the people of Delhi," Gahlot said and highlighted that the real progress of the national capital could not happen if the AAP government spent the majority of its time fighting with the Centre.

"I had started my political journey with the commitment to serve the people of Delhi and I want to continue doing that. Which is why, I find myself left with no option but to step away from AAP and hence I resign from primary membership of Aam Aadmi Party," Gahlot added in his resignation to Kejriwal.

(With inputs from agencies)